Does Silence Equal Compliance?
The love you have for something has to shine through.
The quickest answer is, no. Nevertheless, is there a grey area?
In the new world that we live in, social media is a revolutionary way of presenting yourself. Many people can come across as real or as fake as they see fit. You can photoshop a face you never had, to a place you never went, and a life you have never lived. When it comes to creativity, there is little to no difference.
The idea for this article came when I was having a quarantined Sunday Brunch with my sister. She was telling me about her childhood friend of ten years, who had seen the #blackout on the social media platform, Instagram.
The friend had noticed how the most racist people in her school had posted their own support towards the black lives matter movement. She was flabbergasted. She spoke on how these were the same individuals who had perpetrated years and years of inexcusable ‘banter’ — a cover many racists use to invalidate your response to their racist comments. The comments underneath the photo praised these individuals, calling them ‘game-changers’, ‘woke’ and ‘ the people we need to see’. It was ridiculous.
There is a chance that these individuals have changed. Became better. Looked within themselves. Reflected on their actions. Although, I think it is fair to look at the possibility that they have not ‘changed the game’ or ‘woken up’ yet.
The fact that I am trying to point out here is:
If you do not know how to align yourself with culture, then do not produce creativity for the sake of it. Do not be fake. Be authentic.
As a writer, the stories that get the highest views, the best responses or the greatest wins are the real ones. The ones I was scared to write. The ones that were so personal to me that it was as if I was putting my heart out only to watch it get trampled. If you have passion behind the political message you want to share, it will be felt in your work. Your voice will be different. It will relate to readers more. It will jump across the screen, canvas, or Instagram post, it will shine through.
Your creativity. Your art. The whole point of it is that it is yours. You are the only one that enjoys it. That is probably why you got into it, right? It satisfied you. Do not cloud your mind with other people’s opinions on what you should be producing. It is your product.
Silence = Compliance
However, if you do not use your platform to spread these messages, you can be seen as standing by the ‘man’. People say you have always had an answer. Silence is an answer. It can show that you are not supporting people that need to be helped. But, these posts on Instagram are great for spreading awareness, but we are now at a point in history when it is time for a change. People have picked what ground they stand on. The right side of history or not. You may not spread awareness with your art but when it comes to conversation, you need to impact society, send a message yourself, and through your art if it needs to be.
Clouding minds
People have become victims of omniscience. Wanting to understand everything. To be known as “woke”. Be accepted by all people. Be able to relate to everyone we know on a deeply personal level. But I disagree. You do not have to know everything. Let the people who know about the experience speak for themselves. Instead of hogging the stage to yourself, give the mic to someone else. Someone who has so much to say on the topic who has thought and meditated on a subject. It is only our own selfish desire to be all things that keep us from helping others onto the podium we have created for ourselves.
However, for yourself. Look within yourself. Check yourself before someone else has to. In recent months, we have seen how celebrities have been wiped away from the face of the earth by what they have said, done, and supported on a plethora of problems they can not relate to. When you come into someone else’s space, respect them. Respect the space you have been invited to.
The current climate is not what art is about. Although, I believe in the statement, ‘Art imitates life’ which I think many people have sown into themselves, therefore, forcing art that does not speak to them. I believe art expresses what you have going on inside, what you want to — cheesy as it sounds — have to say to the world. If you share what is authentically brewing in your heart, then you can even change culture with your art. Art is about writing saying something you have to say if you have nothing to create you have little to say. You have not created real art.
